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An unemployed Tunisian set himself on fire in protest against his joblessness, sparking a wave of riots on the ground and solidarity and support on social networking platforms.

While the fate of Mohamed Bouazizi, aged 26, from Sidi Bouzid, in southern Tunisia, remains unclear, Tunisian netizens ceased the incident to complain about the lack of jobs, corruption and deteriorating human rights conditions in their country.

From Facebook to Twitter to blogs, Internet users expressed their solidarity with Mohamed, who had graduated with Mahdia University a few years ago, but could not find a job. Being the only breadwinner in his family, he decided to earn a living and with his family’s help, he started selling fruit and vegetable from a street stall. His venture gave him very little, enough to guarantee the dignity of his family. But city hall officials were on the look out, and have seized his goods several times. He tried to explain to them that what he was doing was not his choice that he was just trying to survive. Each time, his goods were confiscated, he was also insulted and asked to leave the city hall premises. The last time this happened, Mohamed lost all hope in this life and decided to leave it forever. He poured gasoline on himself and set himself on fire.

On Facebook, several groups were created to denounce what happened. Mr President, Tunisians are Setting Themselves on Fire (Ar) is such a group. In less than 24 hours, the group attracted 2,500 members, and today boasts more than 10,000 fans. In less than 24 hours, it has also been censored by the authorities, who have clamped down on the Internet with an iron fist.

Here are two screen images, the second showing what Tunisians see when they try and access the page:

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Some bloggers wrote about what happened and expressed their anger. Writing in a Tunisian dialect, Boukachen wrote a post entitled The Sidi Bouzid Holocaust:

What happened is not something new. This miserable situation has been ongoing in the remote areas for many years. It is the result of the combination of the climatic conditions and the marginalization of such areas, coupled by the total indifference (of the authorities). But the story does not end here as our depraved media exercises a full blackout of this incident.

The Tunisian government did not find another solution but to censor the websites disseminating the story and imposing a blockade on the city of Sidi Bouzid, where people are expressing their anger by protesting in the streets.

On Twitter, the furor is also continuing, with the hash tag #sidibouzid trending among Tunisian users.

The number one cause for suicide is untreated depression. Depression is treatable and suicide is preventable. You can get help from confidential support lines for the suicidal and those in emotional crisis. Please visit www.befrienders.org to find a suicide prevention helpline in your country.